NYT Editorial: This is how voter intimidation worked in 1966: White teenagers in Americus, Ga., harassed black citizens in line to vote, and the police refused to intervene. Black plantation workers in Mississippi had to vote in plantation stores, overseen by their bosses. Black voters in Choctaw County, Ala., had to hand their ballots directly to white election officials for inspection.

This is how it works today: In an ostensible hunt for voter fraud, a Tea Party group, True the Vote, descends on a largely minority precinct and combs the registration records for the slightest misspelling or address error. It uses this information to challenge voters at the polls, and though almost every challenge is baseless, the arguments and delays frustrate those in line and reduce turnout.

The thing that’s different from the days of overt discrimination is the phony pretext of combating voter fraud. Voter identity fraud is all but nonexistent, but the assertion that it might exist is used as an excuse to reduce the political rights of minorities, the poor, students, older Americans and other groups that tend to vote Democratic.

Michael Tomasky: The release of the Romney tax returns is so amateurish that it almost offends me…..

Romney had pledged, in that ABC interview in Israel, that he’d never paid less than 13 percent to the feds. But to make that true for tax year 2011, the campaign admits that he artificially refused to take some deductions so that the rate would stay above the magic number.

But wait a second. Isn’t this the same Mitt Romney who said back in January: “I don’t think you want someone as the candidate for president who pays more taxes than he owes.”

In fact, it is. So he just released returns that, when stacked against his earlier statement, disqualify him for the presidency by his own lights. Amazing…..

Demonstrators hold up signs as Mitt Romney’s motorcade passes enroute to a campaign fundraiser in Hillsborough, California, September 21

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Washington Post editorial: Going with the best-defense-is-a-good-offense approach, the Romney campaign is accusing President Obama of being a — gasp! — redistributionist. In a rather pale replay of 2008’s Joe the Plumber spread-the-wealth debate, the GOP dredged up a 14-year-old video.

…. The campaign apparently thinks that voters will find “redistribution” a scary word. But does Mr. Romney really disagree with the belief that part of government’s role is, in Mr. Obama’s words, to help “make sure that everybody’s got a shot”? To tax is to redistribute. To govern is to redistribute….

…. It’s indisputable that Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama have diverging views about the danger posed by increasing income inequality and the degree of redistribution in which government should engage. But the Romney campaign’s desperate, clownish portrayal of Mr. Obama does this important debate a serious disservice.

1:30 Vice President Joe Biden and wife Jill campaign at a rally in Merrimack, New Hampshire

6:40: President Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event at Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee (I need to check that time, CNN’s live streaming schedule has a habit of getting these things wrong)

Good Luck and have fun at training. I had hoped to attend a session in the town over from where I live, but #2 is home visiting before leaving again for at least 9 months. We’re planning on helping in stimulating the economy today.

ps. CM: Keep your eyes open today. I see a streak of mischievourness in Chips’ eyes already. I can’t take her on today because I’m not sure how long I’ll last. I’ve been pushing back on a budding migraine for the last two hours with my first attempt at taking codeine 2. (I hate pills with a passion!) I’m using the ‘if I ignore the edges of pain they’ll eventually give up and go away. We’ll see.

Aww, of course I’ll be on the look out VC. I’m gonna use my good eyeball too. I sure hope you caught that migraine in time. Those are the most debilitating, nasty old buggers when they strike. I’m a former sufferer and know what you experience with those things. I could only lay in a completely dark room, absolutely no sound, bucked nekked because of the pressure and weight of even the flimsiest material would send me into an agony unknown to man. I don’t know what happened, but they went away after my second pregnancy.

Thank you for that ‘FORMER sufferer’ piece because I really need the hope. Mine started in the past 2/3 years out of the blue it seems, and so far I haven’t been able to isolate any triggers. Very frustrating. They subsided for a while and upon their recent return the Doc. suggested I try codeine2. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be as effective as the tablet I had previously, so I don’t see myself using it for much longer. Anyways, I am handling the dull ache for now while stubbornly trying to follow today’s action.

he conservative attack on government has had widespread negative effects on our society. One obvious example was the mortgage system collapse and the ensuing deep financial crisis that is still affecting millions of Americans. It is clear that this economic meltdown was caused in large part by conservative-led cutbacks in government regulation of financial markets, and that re-regulation of the financial sector is essential to avoid such problems in the future.
More energetic government is necessary in a whole range of areas in our society, not just in the financial sector. The anti-government philosophy of deregulation has not only proved a disaster for the financial system, but also for food safety, energy policy, and environmental protection. And cutting local and state taxes has led to school budgets being slashed, public safety workers being laid off, libraries being closed, poor children being denied medical care, and bridges and roads falling into dangerous disrepair.

Articles on this site challenge many of the common arguments that conservatives use to justify their crusade against government. Consider, for example, the charge that the federal bureaucracy is growing at an uncontrollable rate. Simply not true. The facts are these: in 1970, 2,997,000 civilians worked for the federal government; by 2010, that figure had grown to – or rather been reduced to – 2,841,000. In 1970, federal bureaucrats made up 3.8% of total U.S. workers, while in 2008 they made up a mere 1.9%. So much for the ever-growing federal bureaucracy.
Most of the other traditional conservative criticisms of government are off the mark as well. This site shows that Americans are not hugely overtaxed, that big government does not inevitably impinge on individual freedoms, and that government is not the natural enemy of business.

Hey df, did you see the latest portion of the leaked Romney video where he promised that if he won the election, the first thing he would do is get rid of the SEC and CFTC (that also means laying off a total about 150K federal employees)??

I don’t usually link Huffington Post but I’m making an exception here, because it also contains the video and transcript of what he said:

Paul Ryan admitted last night in the Friday news dump that he had “overlooked” 20% of his income when he filed his 2011 taxes. The income source was his mother-in-law’s living trust.

And that’s totally believable. I mean, who among us hasn’t forgotten $61,122 that Mom left us?

Back to what Anne-Laurie said in the last post—these guys can’t control the news cycle. This level of incompetence at trying to get the job does not bode well for their potential performance in the job.

These fuckers have nothing but contempt for you and the people important to you. They don’t even bother to even try to appear to hide that contempt either.

Most people don’t earn 10% of what these people pay in tax. Why are they so addicted to money and so against the concept of building a country where everyone can get some success. I think I am so very lucky because we are not in debt (having spent years paying off a mortgage) – yet if I had the sort of money that Romney pays in taxes – I would not have a clue as to what to do with it.

G’day, 99ts, I agree, but I must tell you when I see all that Rmoney red covering the shape of Australia, I quiver down to the very marrow of my bones. I would like to understand better what it all means for Australia, as I have so close a bond with your beautiful country. Can you shed any light on the extent to which Myth has holdings, property, etc, that would account for all that red? Canada too, my third country, in the film it shows lots of Rmoney investments in our Canada!

Ryan going before the seniors at the AARP and calling the ACA “OBAMACARE”…indeed in calling for the repeal of obamacare is the same as Romney appearing before the NAACP and calling the ACA…Obamacare…they both showa lcak of respect…a disdain and contempt for the audience…

and now we know how deep this goes….for both of them….it goes to the bone!

I am not thinking the term Obamacare is generating the boos and disdain. I think Obama and our side has embraced the term. I think it was booed due to the fact that AARP was part of the endorsers and panel to give input in the ACA from the beginning. The members are aware of the positives from Obamacare. The audience had just seen the video from Prez Obama previous to Ryan’s speech. They were forewarned of his plans.

I want to see a Peggy Noonan vs. Ann….toinette cat fight. Those little old wanna be elitist, highbrow, blue blood, aristocrats would poke each other’s eyes out with their tea sipping raised pinky fingers.

i saw a different video along with the “Stop it!” video yesterday. I had not seen the other one before and am surprised I had not heard about it as it was very insulting to Latinos. It was something about them being tricked into voting for Dems. Anyone know about it? I saw the clip once and it was gone. I do not even remember which MSNBC show I saw it on.

Though hesitant in the beginning, Michelle has indeed become a force on the campaign trail. She connects with her audience, and they respond as they feel her sincerity and determination. What I don’t like is pitting the Obamas one against the other, saying one is better than the other or one has larger crowds etc. They are appearing in differing venues and have differing roles, and besides, that is purposeless. I’m pretty sure that both the president and first lady would agree. They would not want to be compared. They are a team.

They aren’t talking about her crowd size to pit them agianst the other, instead they say this to show how very popular she has become. The campaign officials I have spoken with in MD welcome this scenario as a weapon of force on the campaign trail that the other side cannot match and only reference it in that context.

I agree dotster. They are a team and they COMPLIMENT, not outdo one another. Ditto for the other DEMs like VP and Dr. Jill Biden and Bill Clinton. Each person brings his or her own strengths to the table, making this a uniquely dynamic and effective campaigning team.

This team should be compared with the opponent team (Romney, Ryan and Miss Ann and Dubya). Romney to PBO, Ryan & his wife to VP Biden and Dr. Jill, Miss Ann to FLOTUS, and Bill Clinton (past Dem President) to Dubya (past Repub President). These comparisons are not being made because the result is obvious. However, I think if the situation were reversed, we would hear about it on the cable airwaves and elsewhere 24/7.

I’ve made the same comparison myself at times- saying that FLOTUS is a better campaigner than PBO, so I think the OFA official’s comments were in keeping with that sentiment – that she’s just that good, not to create any competition between her and PBO.

So I wasn’t really criticizing the OFA official, but I am very mindful of the MSM’s tendency to turn otherwise complimentary situations into contentious competition that serve no one’s interests. After FLOTUS’s speech at the DNC on Monday, HP had a big headline “Top That, Barack!” They tried to make it more about PBO not being able to measure up, rather than compliment the FLOTUS on her own merits – that’s where I’m coming from.

But, as always, your points are very well-taken and appreciated Donna! :)

I think it’s a great idea to highlight how well received FLOTUS is. The inherent comparison is that they both do well in attracting the masses to their events. That’s a positive because everyone has seen the pictures of how many people attend PBO’s events. Now the campaign is cementing in the minds of many, especially the undecideds, that with PBO back in office, you get an equally as dynamic partner. Everybody loves a winner, this shows two winners, kind of like a twofer.

Went to get the car serviced here in very red Brunswick, GA.. FOX was playing on the waiting room TV. Didn’t realize it until I sat down. Then looked up and announced to those gathered that I didn’t watch FOX and went to sit with some others who started clapping. Soon another customer joined us saying she too didn’t watch FOX. Times They Are A’changing!

What this graph shows is that the percentage of people who paid no federal income taxes was roughly 20% through the mid-1980s. There are three big reasons why it has gone up: Reagan, Bush Jr, and the Lesser Depression. There isn’t much to say about the Lesser Depression; when economic times are bad, there are more poor people who will not pay any federal income taxes. We see this in the 1970s, when the recession brought the number up and then in the 1980s, the recovery brought the number back down.[1]

What Reagan and Bush Jr did is very interesting. They both wanted to pass tax cuts that were highly regressive: giving the rich far more benefit than the poor. This is an article of faith on the right. About the only thing we absolutely know about a Romney administration is that it would lower taxes on the rich. But there’s a problem with this idea. You can’t get the 90% of the country who would get nothing from a tax cut to support such a proposal. So Reagan and Bush Jr offered minor tax cuts for the poor and middle class. One of the results of these cuts was to increase the percentage of people who paid no federal income tax.

snip/

Here’s the outrage: the same people complaining about the poor not paying federal income taxes are the same people who created this situation to push through tax cuts for the rich! The Republicans are abusing the poor on both sides of this issue. First, they give the poor tiny tax cuts to justify enormous tax cuts for the rich. Once that’s done, they claim that the poor don’t pay enough in taxes.

LOL! Whatever… like the “protesters” at the DNC convention in Charlotte, they’ll be quickly and easily drowned out, and will have to pack up their shit and leave the area or risk looking like the big fools that they are.

That is how they get media attention. Bracketing Romney gets them Zero coverage. They do, but we don’t hear it. Media will be on over load to cover anything bad about pres Obama more than ever 46 days out….until Nov 6, 2012. They want a horse race. But the Elephant got to heavy and could Not compete. Now the media is part of the elephant and they are carrying the bishop’s load for him.

When I click on the link I get this: ‘bad request’. This is not a reply directly to you Jovie, but to the downstream comments to your comment as well. I’m placing it here, since yours is the parent comment:

What’s wrong in asking for what you want? I’m not a PETA advocate, they can e worrisome at times, but I don’t have an issue with any group asking or even demanding what they feel is an important issue. Some groups do it better than others. Some groups get more coverage than others. Some just have too much time on their hands. In this country, it’s the only way to affect change. PBO said it yesterday, stuff gets changed from the outside. We have to be careful in limiting that sentiment to only our causes. We have to invent our own better light bulb and then get out there and ask for, or demand that it gets the exposure it deserves.

I was at the Obama event on Thursday. Univision had a list of rules that they wanted us to abide by due to time restraints. They told us it was not a rally. That we should not be actively participants. We did try to control ourselves, but you can’t sit in the same space with PBO and not become rowdy. Sorry, that is just how it is! Now, I don’t know how it came across in tvland. I taped the show but have not watched it yet.

The more the News is showing a shift, the more it will start to seem close to resembling 2008. People want a Winner. No matter how hard the right has tried, Pres Obama is, looks, acts, behaves, embodies, embraces, typifies a Winner. Americans Love Winners.

Good evening Chips. Was struggling a with prickly bit of a technical problem here for this entire week and finally hit a solution today afternoon. The client was so happy that he told me ‘come, this deserves a treat. I am taking you for a spin in the country side.”

Can anyone be this stupid? Romney must be too chicken to admit that he changed his mind about becoming President. After all, he sure hasn’t done much campaigning. He takes tons of time off. Being president is a 24/7 job. He is therefore sabotaging his own campaign so he is not stuck with a “quitter” label. Releasing the massaged tax return is pure craziness.

Lady Ann says campaigning is “hard”. So the Mittser needs his rest. I think the fewer campaign rallies have become his new re-boot campaign strategy. The more people see and hear him the less they like him so they figure they will keep him out of sight and cross their fingers that “those people” will begin to like him better. ;)

The real takeaway from this piece isn’t how Willard packed the audience with bussed-in supporters who were disrespectful to the hosts. The real story is that the Willard campaign couldn’t find enough students who supported him on campus. He might have played that little battle well, but this shows the GOP is losing the war overall. Young people are not attracted to the the Republican party in general. This will hurt their party for a generation.

what a f-ing stupid article. a lesson in false equivalency, and he even concludes with a cover-up of the orange makeup debacle and telling readers to move along, nothing to see here. not to mention, even with all that backstory, the moderators still kissed mittbot’s butt and recycled republican talking points to the president of the united states. what a f-ing joke that whole univision thing was and this buzzfeed moron. yet, our president still turns it into a learning experience for all.

MUST-READ ARTICLE on how Mitt Romney manipulated the Univision Town Hall forum:

This article highlights much of what we thought about Romney’s stacking of the Univision Forum to put him the best possible light. And interestingly, he may have bullied the Univision hosts successfully, but he will NOT manipulate the majority of Latino voters who are thinking people and are not about to let some manipulated forum decide for them who has their bests interests.

This is a long article, but I encourage everyone to read it in its entirety to see just how that sniveling little Bastard bullied his way into the forum by making tons of last minute demands, threats to cancel or reschedule his appearance, having his bused-in supporters ignore forum rules, etc

Donna dem had posted a link and we could barely get through the first 10 minutes of the Romney forum – it was sickening.

I could tell that these hosts were thoroughly intimidated by Mitt Romney and the contrast between their meekness during the Romney forum and their aggressiveness during the Obama forum was startling. People on Twitter were making the same observations.

HF2, this pisses me off! I knew something was up when I watched the first 10 minutes of Romney’s forum compared to the 1st 10 minutes of PBO’s forum. That host was very aggressive with PBO and I didn’t see that same aggression with Romney. Honestly I was shocked at the glowing reception and response that Romney was getting. I immediately felt he had stacked the audience and turned it off.

This is another reason why I am not all that excited about these upcoming debates. This article is just more proof of the propaganda that can go on within the media.

When that bogus debate with ABC and Stephanopoulos took place in 2008 PBO’s supporters pushed back and called him out on it but all the talking heads from everyone of the networks as well as cable came to his defense. It’s a strong union on their part and their livelihood so they will defend it even when they are 100% wrong!

I agree donna that the MSM will try to push their pro-Romney propaganda. They’ve already set up the narrative that he’s a “great debater” whatever the hell that means.

However, I’m thinking that the debates will be far more widely viewed and scrutinized than the Univision forum, and the candidates will be side by side in the same forum debating each other, not talking to the hosts by themselves in separate forums. This makes it a lot more difficult for one candidate to stack the debate. Also, a lot has changed between 2008 and now in terms of people’s response to the MSM’s antics and I’m sure that viewers are going to be very carefully scrutinizing the moderators’ responses and behaviors, and won’t hesitate to call them out when necessary.

Very true HF2. A lot has changed since 2008. I agree about them not being able to stack the debate but those moderators can manipulate the questions to favor one candidate over the other and this is where we (PBO’s supporters) come in. I have no doubt that PBO will do a masterful job but we all know that the media is looking for any little perceived issue that they think will make this campaign an election night photo finish.

True confession: I’m a complete chicken when it comes to these events. :oops: I won’t watch a minute of it live (I worry as if he were my own child) but will be following along here, on twitter and other sites that will be live blogging it. ;)

Tweet them meta..ask them to explain why they let Romney’s tantrum (Bullying) to trigger special concessions for him. This was a shame of a forum. SHANE ON THEM!
EVERYONE of our tweeters should push back on this..this is huge.

Funny that for a lying bishop who has severe disdain for 47% of Us. For a guy who claims to have made it on his Own, He never does, does he now? Papa got him off ‘Nam. 4 deferments. Jetted off to France. Papa bought him a house for $40K. Papa paid for his living expenses and College. Bain Gave him Bain Capital. 32 Billionaires now funding his campaign. He buy over 150K twitter accounts. He avoids taxes by banking in 23 different countries. He lies, fabricates, distorts, flip flops to get ahead. he plays by different rules. He has buses of Mormon missionaries helping him and being bused in to help fill audiences. During debates, he had people bused in to cheer for him. He had over a dozen Blacks flown in to NAACP. Now at a Univision Forum, Romney’s cheating way to stack the deck continues. This man is Not Fit to serve.

So manipulation of the Univision event is how Romney wants to manipulate his perception. This is a disgrace, back to back forums where one is packed with non-student Romney activists. The people in charge of this forum should have to answer as to why they let Romney BULLY them into these changes. The tantrum got Romney what he wanted..they should of done what most adults do with their children that have tantrums…..don’t give in to the demands of the child. SHAME ON THEM!!

FRONT PAGE CHIPS.
The hispanic/Latino community needs to know this.
Tweet to Marc Anthony, Chris Matthews, Eva etc…get this on a major paper. LA Times. NYT the hispanic community is huge we must let them know of this manipulation. I am so mad…

GM All: I remember hearing someone say that Romney is a good looking man. I never got that. Not only is his appearance unattractive, but so is his soul. What kind of spirituality is within him? How can you dislike someone who does not have what you have? How can you base your decision on wealth only? I never understood that. What happened to compassion, empathy? If I were wealthy monetarily, I wouldn’t look down on anyone. I would try to help others. I do this anyway but would be more generous if I had more. No one wants to be poor or without in a country that has plenty.

I would be interested to know (from the perspective of any Latino TOD’ers) what they think Latino’s will think if they read about this incident in the Spanish language papers. I would be offended by Romney bullying the Spanish speaking network but I am curious to hear how those who would best know feel.

i saw a comment somewhere that pointed out how miss ann rmoney uses the phrase “running the country” when talking about having mittbot in the white house. actually, a president is “serving the country” dahling. important distinction and really says a lot of the mentality of the rmoney klan.